English in action: 16th November

Whilst most Englishmen were waking on Sunday satisfied from England’s 3-1 win over Slovenia the night before, three players took to the field.

Italy: Pro Patria 1-2 Arezzo (Lega Pro Girone A)
Westminster-born defender Myles Anderson made the bench once for Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League and now, via spells at Exeter, Aldershot and Monza, he plays his football for Pro Patria.

The 24-year-old defender moved to the continent last season when he joined Italian fourth-tier side Monza. After eight appearances for them last season, he joined third-tier side Pro Patria this summer.

Yesterday, Anderson was making his ninth start of the season as his side hosted Arezzo, who sat eight places in the table in 10th place. The match turned out to be a disappointing one for Anderson, who played the full ninety minutes as his team lost 2-1. The defender also picked up a booking to cap a disappointing day at the office.

India: Delhi Dynamos 0-1 Kerala Blasters (Indian Super League)
44-year-old player/manager David James has defied his age this year in the Indian Super League and kept up his good form yesterday as he recorded a fourth consecutive clean sheet as his side Kerala Blasters defeated Delhi Dynamos 1-0.

The former England international goalkeeper remained solid in goal once again and yesterday’s victory saw the Blasters move into third place in the Indian Super League.

The only goal of the game came in the 61st minute when Nigerian substitute Penn Orji scored following an assist from former Preston North End forward Iain Hume.

The 2014 season in America is reaching its climax and the NASL (USA’s second tier) is no different as the San Antonio Scorpions took on the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the 2014 Soccer Bowl, the NASL playoff final.

The NASL season is split into a Spring and Fall championship. The winner of each makes the playoffs, as well as the two teams with the best combined records over the two championships. San Antonio qualified as the winners of the Fall championship, Fort Lauderdale qualified with one of the best combined records.

The two teams successfully negotiated their way through the playoff semi-finals to make the playoff final, known as the Soccer Bowl.

The Englishmen involved in the final was Mark Anderson, who is enjoying his third season at the Strikers. The 25-year-old midfielder from Durham, made the move to the States in 2005 to study and joined the Strikers in 2012. He started in centre midfield in the eagerly anticipated Soccer Bowl.

Unfortunately, although Anderson contributed on a personal level, he was unable to guide the Strikers to the title as San Antonio secured a 2-1 win to secure their first ever Soccer Bowl.

The Scorpions scored twice midway through the second half and despite the Strikers pulling one back through Walter Ramirez, a goal set up by Anderson, they could not score a second and fell to a loss at the final hurdle.